Ni–Cu/ZnO-catalyzed Hydrogenolysis of Cellulose for the Production of 1,2-Alkanediols in Hot Compressed Water

Ni–Cu/ZnO catalysts with varied Ni-to-Cu mole ratio were prepared by coprecipitation and evaluated for the hydrogenolysis of high-crystalline cellulose. Ni and Cu species exerted synergetic effects in dehydroxylation reaction and C–C bond breakage for the formation of 1,2-alkanediols. Ni–Cu/ZnO with Ni-to-Cu ratio of 2:3 is highly selective toward 1,2-alkanediols (72.5%) under hydrothermal conditions (518 K, 4 MPa H2), which also exhibits excellent activity in the conversion of real biomass.